


the boy by the pond

by vanillaexxtract (orphan_account)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Comfort, Cutting, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Heavy Angst, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I Made Myself Cry, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love at First Sight, M/M, Protective Ushijima Wakatoshi, Self-Harm, Tendou Satori Needs a Hug, Tendou Satori-centric, Tendou is sad, but ushijima makes it a lil better, child tendou, child ushijima, listen to it while reading for the full effect idk, wrote this while listening to 'this is home' by cavetown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27241381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/vanillaexxtract
Summary: everyone saw tendou satori as a monster. until someone didn't.
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 145





	the boy by the pond

**Author's Note:**

> !! tw for self harm. do not read if you are triggered by self harm. !!  
> .  
> .  
> I MADE MYSELF BAWL WITH THIS ONE Y'ALL I HOPE YOU ENJOY 🚶♀️

"you're such a freak," the boy spat at him. he snatched the volleyball from his trembling hands, dashing away from the redhead back to his friends, the group snickering among themselves as they walked away. tendou watched with emotionless eyes as they opened the door to the gymnasium, the air conditioning blowing their hair back. his hands remained as if he was still holding the slightly deflated ball, and he blinked slowly when he was sure they couldn't see him from inside. a silent tear rolled down his sweat-sticky face, inhaling gently through his nose as the wind blew autumn leaves around his still figure.   
-  
he walked home that day. alone, like always. his yellow lunchbox swung clumsily along with his steps, the metal clasps filling his usual silence.   
-  
tendou greeted his mother with a smile. fake, like always. she smiled down at him, genuinely, kissing his forehead and kneeling to help him out of his shoes.  
-  
his mother asked how his day was. he lied, like always. "it was good," he smiled sheepishly up through his bangs, swinging his legs haphazardly from where they were dangling off his chair. hopefully he accidentally hit his legs on the bottom of the counter. he loved pressing on the bruises left behind. it helped him feel something.  
anything.   
-  
tendou went back to school the next day. he wore long sleeves. the small butterknife he had snuck into his room the night before lay pressed under his mattress, small specks of blood still cloying to the metal. no one looked at him.   
no one noticed him.  
he was used to it.  
-  
it rained that afternoon. he watched, with bright eyes, the small birds landing in shallow puddles. the sun was soft, gentle, on his face, and he blinked down as a bird landed at his feet. he reached down to touch it's feathery head, his shirt riding up his arm and catching on the rugged cuts. he winced, and the bird flew away, the sudden movement startling the creature. his eyes didn't shine anymore.   
-  
tendou took a detour home. he didn't want to put on his fake smile. he wanted his mother to believe he was okay. he wanted to believe he was okay. he sat at the edge of the park's pond, legs curled up to his chest. he hugged them tightly, watching life go on around him. he glanced up, suddenly. he had no reason to, no shadow, indication of movement. he simply felt like looking up.   
-  
their eyes met. the boy stood at the other end of the pond, holding hands with his father. he didn't smile at tendou. he didn't do much of anything. tendou blinked slowly. the boy was still there when he opened his eyes.   
the feeling of safety coursing through tendou was strange, though not unwelcomed.   
he had never seen this boy before.   
his heart skipped a beat when the boy tried his best to smile widely at him.  
-  
he still felt on the verge of tears when he stepped into his home that day. he still felt on the verge of tears as he forced himself to finish his dinner. he still felt on the verge of tears as he said goodnight to his mother with a tiny smile.   
-  
he felt a little less on the verge of tears when he thought about the boy by the pond.  
-  
tendou met his new neighbors the next day. they seemed nice enough. he greeted them uneventfully, clinging onto his mother.   
"ushijima," the woman called into their house. "our son has some trouble making friends, he's rather... stoic," she laughed breezily. "please come down to greet the neighbors," she called back into the house, holding her hand out when the boy peeked his head into the stairwell.   
tendou's breath hitched, and he let go of his mother's skirt, stepping forward hesitantly to squint his eyes up at the slowly descending figure. he came down quietly, hovering his hand over the banister like he would tip over at any moment.   
-  
for the first time since he could remember, tendou felt excitement.  
the boy from the pond- no, ushijima- was gradually focusing into tendou's view. as he looked up from his footing, he also seemed to be surprised.   
the boys stared at each other, wide-eyed, jumping when tendou's mother spoke. before he knew it, tendou and ushijima were alone in the foyer of ushijima's home, their mothers off to see the back of the house.   
-  
tendou stood there, waiting for the barrage of insults.   
he waited for the fear. he waited for the boy to run back to his mother in a hurry to get away from him.   
-  
he stood there as ushijima stepped forward gently. their eyes met again. he could barely understand the feeling that overwhelmed him as ushijima wrapped his small arms around tendou's smaller body.   
-  
he could only stand there.   
-  
"why?" tendou breathed, unmoving in the boy's arms.   
"you looked like you were sad," ushijima mumbled.   
tendou's eyes widened, and his arms moved of their own accord, wrapping around the comforting boy.   
-  
home.   
it was an overwhelming feeling of home, being held in ushijima's arms.   
-

**Author's Note:**

> part two?¿¿?? maybe?¿¿ if y'all like this one?¿


End file.
